Guest Lectures Flashcards
Mirjana’s Research
Anthropological study of “hard” sciences, looking at science as a cultural product.
- How cultures influence science and how science influences culture (Bidirectional)
- The role of science in politics , society and everyday life
- How scientific facts are made? How is knowledge produced?
Ex. of Mirjana’s Research
Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar (1979): Laboratory Life: the Construction of Scientific Facts. How experiments are done and how facts are produced Sharon Traweek (1992): Beamtetes and LIfetimes: the World of High Energy Physicists. How Physicists in the US and Japan navigate their professional and everyday life, how culture influences this: science is the same but some approaches were different, Why are women inferior in physics? —> Both cultures considered women inferior but had completely different reasons as to why The Space Race (USA vs. USSR) —> Cold War
Studying Up
Laura Nader (1972) – Anthropologists should focus on those with power (Western cultures and the most powerful within them), rather than studying third world countries as they typically do.
(Studying down is the opposite of this)
Native Ethnographer
Ethnographers studying their own culture (typically non-westerners, a post colonial, “third world” culture studying themselves) .
Geography & History of Serbia
- The Balkans
- Yugoslavia (socialism - socialist but never part of the Soviet sphere of influence, it was neutral/independent and didn’t belong to Western or Eastern Block
- Post Socialist Serbia
–> Notion of liminality: being in between the East and West, not just geographically but in state, unstable.
How Culture influences Science in Serbia
- Effort to be relevant on the global (Western) scene, papers in leading Western journals
- Training based largely on Soviet/Russian books and methods
- Soviet ideals: Theory is everything
- At the same time, it only matters to be relevant in the West
Serbian approach
- Lack of funds: Barbarogenius (Barbaric-genius) – Look at what we can do without money
- No need to produce practical results
How Culture in Serbia is influenced by Science
- Physical sciences are not there to produce practical utilitarian results (Probably won’t have enough money to implement anything)
- Used for building national spirit and patriotic feelings
- Achievements made by anyone from Serbia is an achievement by Serbs & Serbia
- Scientists are ambassadors of Serbia
- Science is an opportunity for the world/the West to hear something positive about Serbia
Ex: Nikola Tesla: famous engineer and investor, one of the greatest figures of national pride in Serbia
Greenland & the “New” Arctic (Kaitlin’s research)
- Greenland is self-governing, a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, not autonomous
- 1979: Homerule, 2009: Self rule (more rights)
- Extractive industry
Geopolitical hotspot: Geography and politics, representation of power & politics on the ground: mining companies, climate change, commercial & political interests - Political & commercial
- Zone of transition: emerging “New North” (modern place of interest)
The “New” Greenland
- Contemporary city
- “Nuuk York City”
- 2 traffic lights & 1 escalator in all of Greenland
Kaitlin’s Problem Statement:
- Lack of regulatory process - exclusion of Greenlanders from extractive industry decisions
- Evident concern from Greenlanders (voices not being heard)
- Apparent disconnection between BMP, proponents & public
- Required further investigation
Democratic ideal: 6 criteria (Kaitlin)
Special interest must not be incompatible, equal power, equal access to public sphere, equal knowledge of initiatives, must have equal impact, must be equal gender representation in the process)
Empirical Analysis: Public Participation
- ) Problems with participation:
- Structural problems
- Timing, lack of information, language, lack of educational capacity - ) Barries to participation:
- Cultural complications
- Non-debate, fear of speaking out, nepotism, power dynamics
Empirical Analysis: Politics of Participation
Long quote: “ The idea of society is a powerful image. It is potent in its own right to control or to spring men to action. This image has form; it has external boundaries, margins, internal structure. Its outlines contain power to reward conformity and repulse attack. There is energy in its margins and unstructured areas. For symbols of society and any human experience of structures, margins or boundaries ready to hand” (Douglas)
– bellhooks centre margin theory
The Coalition (Kaitlin)
- October 2013, Friends of Nuuk Fjord, Avataq, Transparency Greenland etc…
- Critique, Organization, Timing, Educational Capacity, Acceptance
- Greenland requires fundamental restructuring of the whole system: new style of impact assessments
